Category: The Joyce Theater

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Complexions

Complexions Contemporary Ballet was AMAZING at the Joyce Theater last night. What an incredible group of talented dancers with so much artistry and such impeccable techniques.

Star Dust was still the same stunning, energetic, over-the-top, rock-n-roll ballet concert that captured my heart for the past two years. The piece is set to fourteen songs by David Bowie, as a tribute to the singer.

Bach 25, a world premiere, consisted some of the finest and most beautiful ballet movements.

Thanks for a wonderful evening, Complexions. Go see them at the Joyce Theater from now till March 3rd!

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More of the Trocks at the Joyce Theater

Absolutely loved “Stars and Stripes Forever” and “Chopeniana” by the Trocks!!!

Stunning pas de deux. Gorgeous fouettes with exciting double turns. The evening was a beautiful technical showcase of classical ballet.

Yet, you don’t want to miss any of the corps variations, silly pre-show announcements, hilarious program notes, the drinking and the champagne on stage, or the naps and sleep-walking ballerina who fell off the stage.

Bravos to this company of all-male ballet dancers en pointe for giving us ballet comedy at its finest.

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The Trocks at the Joyce Theater

Wrapping up the year with hilarious ballet comedy by the Trocks at the Joyce Theater.

From the silly stage names and absurd bios in the printed program to the comical pre-show announcements… from Swan Lake to the encore “modern” performance featuring high kicks to the tune of Winter Wonderland… we were treated to a beautiful and fun night of ballet by this company of talented all-male dancers.

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Minimalism and Me by Twyla Tharp

Minimalism and Me: A fascinating lesson through dance history this afternoon with Twyla Tharp at the Joyce Theater.

Who wants go to back and see the show again with me???

Today’s program is by far my favorite among the different works I’ve seen by Twyla.

Twyla explored minimalism at the start of her career. In her first ever work “Tank Dive”, premiered in 1965, she held second position in elevé for 3.5 continuous minutes while Petula Clark’s recording of “Downtown” played in the background. And that’s it. That is the entirety of choreography. Yet “Tank Dive” was oddly satisfying to watch.

From there, Twyla explored how she could continue to reduce dance into even simpler movements. What could possibly be less than holding the second position, you ask? The answer is… a lot!!!

She and her close-knit group of female dancers “did not take curtain bows” back then because “often there was no audience left by the end of the performance” according to Twyla, as she retold the stories jokingly and proudly. “We danced wherever we could dance.” Indeed, they experimented with and redefined the boundaries of dance.

Act I on minimalism ended with the amazing “The Fugue”, premiered in 1970. I’ve seen the piece before, but Twyla’s stories today gave the piece a whole new interpretation.

Bravos to all the talented and passionate dancers, Kara Chan, Kellie Drobnick, Mary Beth Hansohn, Matthew Dibble, Ronnie Todorowski, Reed Tankersley, for recreating the dances for us today. Thank you for a marvelous show!!!

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The Tenant

The Tenant at the Joyce Theater with a post-show chat with the cast.

A complex dance play that’s dark, disturbing yet at a deep level, completely relatable. A stunning performance for those open to experiences.

Love Cassie Trenary‘s solo at the start of the show depicting the mental state of Simone. Love James Whiteside‘s and Cassie’s duets; James’ transformation; and the final dance where they mirror each other. I would go back just to see those dance scenes again!

However, the show has so much more. Love Kibrea Carmichael‘s movements and portrayal of her various characters. I generally try to focus on the dancers, but major kudos to Frank Moon for the live music, sounds, and voice.

At the post-show chat, we learnt about:

The significant amount of research that the dancers undertook to master their characters.

How the cast wind down at the end of the night, after being so emotionally invested in dark roles that involve suicide, deep anxiety, paranoia, and so on.

And the various coincidental events that happened during the creation of the piece. Are we really watching a story replaying in a loop? Or perhaps… just perhaps… are we all living the story ourselves?

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MOMIX

MOMIX is playing at the Joyce Theater through August 11. Don’t this group of incredible visual artists!!!

Here are some of my favorites from last Wednesday.

Aqua Flora — A gorgeous solo where the dancer spins nonstop throughout the entire choreography, creating beautiful visual illusions with the thousands of beads hanging off her neck.

Tuu — A stunning duet that’s aesthetically beautiful but also requires the strength of steel to perform, or at least more core strength than I ever thought was possible.

Dream Catcher — A unique acrobatic choreography unlike anything I’ve seen. Two dancers move through 3D space with the help of a kinetic sculpture (that’s about two stories tall). According to founder and artistic director, Moses Pendleton, the piece was so difficult to create initially, that the original cast wore football helmets (with a full face mask) to prevent themselves from being accidentally crushed by the moving sculpture.

Man Fan — A solo with the most outrageous but impressive costume, where a single person fills the entire Joyce Theater, literally.

If You Need Some Body — A light-hearted and unexpected comedy piece to chose the show!

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Batsheva Dance Company

Thought-provoking performance “Offending the Audience” by the Young Ensemble of the Batsheva Dance Company at the Joyce Theater.

I didn’t actually find the language to be particularly offensive except for the final minutes. Even then, it wasn’t too bad.

On the other hand, it was an odd experience to be called out for doing *exact* what we were doing. For example, that we, as the audience, were sitting in rows equal distance from each other.

I want to better understand the meaning of the scene about a girl dancing naked to provoke a beating from her mom though… among other unusual and puzzling moments in the choreography.

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Parsons Dance

Parsons Dance. May 24th at the Joyce Theater.

My favorite of the night is the ballet “Wolfgang” originally created in 2005 for the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. Of course, having seen “Caught” several times, the piece still impresses every single time.

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José Limón at the Joyce

José Limón Dance Company. May 12th at the Joyce Theater.

José Limón presented quite a different program tonight than they did last year.

Both the opening and closing work were longer in length, and each featured a distinct theme drawn from real world inspirations. “The Unsung, The Body Is a House Without Walls” pays homage to the Native Americans. The piece is powerful and does not have any accompanying music. The only sound comes from the dancers hitting the floor. “Missa Brevis” featuring more than two dozen dancers tells the story of the human spirit overcoming hardships at the end of WWII.

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Lar Lubovitch Dance Company

Lar Lubovitch Dance Company. Performance and post-show talk on April 18th at the Joyce Theater.

Lar was originally a painter who got his inspiration from music. Painting was his way of visualizing music. Not surprisingly, as a choreographer, he paints music with his dancers.

For anyone who knows me, I personally believe movement should come before music. Dance as a field should be able to stand on its own without music. We are not a derivative of another art form.

Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed Lar’s work. His unique choreographic touch was evident in tonight’s program of “The Legend of Ten”, “Something about Night”, and “Men’s Stories”. His dancers moved across the stage like brush strokes building up elaborate and dynamic scenes.